[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Search the Q&A Archives

Is the newfoundland the largest dog in the world

<< Back to: rec.pets.dogs: Newfoundlands Breed-FAQ

Answer by Rhino
Submitted on 5/28/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
I think I can help a little here. The American Mastiff might be the largest dog in the world. Before I bought my puppy, I did alot of research on this. The minimum height for this breed is 30" with most between 35" - 37". The weight at maturity is between 200 and 250 lbs. Our dog is now 32" at the shoulder and 145 pounds. They don't start bulking up with muscle until after 2 years old. I saw our dog's uncle and it was the biggest canine I have ever seen in my life. You can check out the website of the breeder at www.flyingwfarms.com. The pictures are misleading though. You have to see them to understand how big they are. Our dog is already dwarfing the Great Danes in town and he is only 14 months old!!

Answer by Rachel
Submitted on 6/28/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
Irish Wolfhound's are between 105-125 lbs. and 35-35 inches at the shoulder. Great Danes's are between 100-120 lbs. and 28-32 inches at the shoulder. English Mastiff's are between 175-190 lbs. and 27.5-30 inches at the shoulder. German Sheperd Dog's are 75-95 lbs. and 22-26 inches at the shoulder. Although the Largest Dog in the world about to be recorded is an English Mastiff. He is 282 lbs. and 38 inches at the neck.For more info go to: http://www.dogsinthenews.com/issues/0106/articles/010609a.htm This proving that books aren't always correct and that just because some book says that this is the largest dog doesn't mean there is not going to be some oddly large offspring produced from different breeds.

Answer by Tom
Submitted on 8/26/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Every article on this web site talks about heaviest and tallest dogs at the shoulder, except one says there is an eight foot long dog (do you mean European zoo lion?). How come no one except one mentions length of dogs? Could the dog that is five foot high at the shoulder be a typographical error to mean five foot long? I am six feet high and one foot shorter than me is very very tall for a dog. Secondly, until I discovered this website, I thought Irish Wolfhound is longest dog, not tallest at the shoulder. Secondly, I saw web sites saying the Mastiff is the heaviest; but I never read of English Mastiff or Neomastiff, so I learned something today. But, I also heard from a web site that the Greater Swiss Alpine Mountain dog is the largest dog. But I also wondered, Great Danes seem very high at the shoulder, I never read of Great Dane being largest until today; maybe, I thought Irish Wolfhound is the longest, Great Dane is tallest which everyone had forgot until this website pointed it out, and Greater Swiss Mountain Alpine dog is secretly the largest, with Mastiff being generally considered the largest. So, this is my posting. Thank you. Secondly: Maybe ten years ago, there was a media article about a Japanese company that had the idea to come up with a new world's largest dog breed by breeding various kinds of largest dogs. Does anyone have information about this? In answer to: Answer by spoo Submitted on 5/21/2004 what would happen is someone (not me) ;) bred a wolfhound and a mastiff?

Answer by Bobby
Submitted on 12/1/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Yes the English Mastiff is the Largest.. aka, Heaviest dog. No doubt about it. Number two would be the st bernard. then after that you have the Neopolitan Mastiff, the Newfy and other assorted Mastiffs. (not all Mastiffs are AKC breeds, there for, a dog like the Douge de Bordeux (from Turner and Hootch fame)might not be fully recognized.. but then again the AKC is not the only organization out there and quite a few others recognize other breeds as they're own "breed" as opposed to a branch off of a current breed. Example the Newfoundland Landseer is considered a Newfoundland by the AKC, but by pretty much every other Org, the Landseer is its own Breed and not a Newf at all.) Tallest is a split between a Great Dane and an Irish Wolf Hound. Though the GD is much thicker. Now I'll be the first to point out that Scooby Doo was around 5'5" and with all the Scooby snacks he ate, he'd weight about 300. So taking that into consideration, the Dane could push for it. Or... I spent too much time in the Back of the Mystery Machine with Daphne and Velma.

Answer by daneowner
Submitted on 12/1/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
In my research there are lots of different people claiming the worlds largest dog in the world and it could mean different things? Burt Ward (the original Batman from the Batman and Robin series has Avalanche a Great Dane that is 43.5" at the withers and 270+lbs. But in the Encyclopedias it says that Wolfhounds are tallest and Mastiffs are heaviest. My dane is 39" at the withers and only 180 healthy lbs. Keep in mind that dogs can be very overweight and the ones I see holding these records are usually very overweight and usually will die at a much younger age due to this obesity. And all breed books seem to be wrong about the average heights and weights to any of the extra large breeds.

Answer by great dane and irish wolfhound breeder www.kajondanes.com
Submitted on 1/2/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
The heavies dog ever recorded was the old english mastiff at around 340 pounds and the tallest dog ever recorded was a great dane named shamgret danzas which was 42 and a half inches tall at the shoulders and over 240 pounds. On average the great dane and irish wolfhound are the same height the minimum to show for both is around 32 for males at the shoulders but they average around 36 for both it is less for females. Irish wolfhounds and great danes were breed together to make each other. Originally the mastiff and wolfhound in the 1500s and then after the wolfhounds were almost extinct in the 1800s the used the great dane to revitalize the wolfhound, which is why both breeds our so similar

Answer by Tank
Submitted on 4/6/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
The Mastiff is probably the biggest dog in the world. In 1989 Guinness recorded an 8-year old Mastiff named Zorba at 343 pounds, standing 37 inches at the shoulder and 8 foot 3 inches from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. While your Mastiff will probably not break this record, it will be a BIG dog - something to remember when you start training it as a puppy. Mastiffs make good family dogs and are great with children (although their size could cause injury to younger kids). They need the same exercise strategy as a human - starting mild and then increasing. Or, it is just as happy curling up on the rug. A good guard dog that will use its bulk to prevent access rather than resorting to more aggressive methods. Mastiffs will enjoy the company of other pets if they were properly socialized as a puppy. Their short coat is easy to groom with only occasional brushing.